Posts tagged vanilla extract
blood orange + lavender muffins

valentine’s day is upon us and the day is going to be pretty low key over here at la casita costa mesa.

wes has to work that night (restaurant life) so we will be celebrating with our traditional lobster tails & my caesar salad another night. we have even toyed with the idea of venturing out to celebrate twice and try a new restaurant that has been on our list. restaurant tbd of course because the list is long and we haven’t picked a winner yet.

but my love of valentine’s day is strong and so you know i will be celebrating with a special treat.

i’ve been dreaming of these blood orange and lavender muffins for a while now. the lavender in my garden is starting to grow strong again and the blood oranges are gorgeous right now so i lucked out and they came together right at my favorite time of year.

now, while the final shot looks great, what you don’t see is that i made these once and burnt them to smithereens because i was doing too many things at once. just keeping it real. keeping it realer, i still ate three of the burnt ones because the inside was still soft and insanely delicious.

blood orange + lavender muffins

serves: 12 muffins

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

bake time: 30 minutes

total time: 50 minutes

ingredients: 2 cups flour. 2 tsp baking powder. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 cup (1 stick) butter. 1 cup sugar. 2 eggs. .5 cup milk. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 2 blood oranges, zested and peel removed (one orange you will segment and chop and one you will juice half the orange and slice the other half thin for the muffin tops). 1 tsp fresh lavender leaves or 1 tsp finely chopped dried lavender flowers. muffin tin and muffin liners. stand mixer or hand blender.

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start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f. in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a bowl with a hand blender, combine the sugar, butter, lavender and blood orange zest. cream together the butter and the sugar.

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add in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.

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pour in half the flour mixture, followed by the milk and blood orange juice and then the remaining flour mixture.

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finally, add in the blood orange segments and stir till just combined.

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fill each muffin tin two thirds of the way to the top.

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top each with a blood orange wedge.

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bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

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serve warm or at room temperature.

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xo, a

blood orange + lavender muffins

serves: 12 muffins

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

bake time: 30 minutes

total time: 50 minutes

ingredients: 2 cups flour. 2 tsp baking powder. 1 tsp kosher salt. .5 cup (1 stick) butter. 1 cup sugar. 2 eggs. .5 cup milk. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 2 blood oranges, zested and peel removed (one orange you will segment and chop and one you will juice half the orange and slice the other half thin for the muffin tops). 1 tsp fresh lavender leaves or 1 tsp finely chopped dried lavender flowers. muffin tin and muffin liners. stand mixer or hand blender.

start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees f. in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a bowl with a hand blender, combine the sugar, butter, lavender and blood orange zest. cream together the butter and the sugar. add in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract. pour in half the flour mixture, followed by the milk and blood orange juice and then the remaining flour mixture. finally, add in the blood orange segments and stir till just combined. fill each muffin tin two thirds of the way to the top. top each with a blood orange wedge. bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean. serve warm or at room temperature.

chocolate cream cheese frosting

things are nuts over here so i'm going to keep it short and sweet. sweet being the operative word. 

my life lately has been all cake. while i never set out to be a baker, my cake orders have rapidly picked up. i am so grateful and excited that they are so well received, but i'm having trouble readjusting to the increase in demand. basically, i'm all cake and no play. 

but i wanted to take a moment to share one of the tastier things i've been whipping up lately. there is something so decadent about a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. or just a big fat spoonful of chocolate frosting. whatever floats your boat. 

personally, i am not a fan of classic butter cream. too sweet for this blood. so you will find that all of my frosting recipes have a cream cheese frosting. 

chocolate cream cheese frosting

serves: 6lbs frosting

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 5 minutes

total time: 15 minutes

ingredients: 2 lbs room temperature butter. 2 lbs room temperature cream cheese. 1 tbs vanilla extract. 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted. 1 lb dark chocolate, melted and cooled. stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. 

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start by combining the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer.

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mix on a medium speed until everything is well combined. as the butter and cream cheese are mixing, pour in the vanilla extract. it should take 2-3 minutes to be completely combined and smooth.

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one third at a time, add in the powdered sugar. scrape down the sides of the bowl in between.

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once all the powdered sugar is added and well combined, slowly start to add in your chocolate.

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make sure that your chocolate has cooled significantly so nothing gets melty.

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once your chocolate is just combined, turn off your mixer. do not over whip.

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us immediately ore store in the fridge for up to two weeks. 

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xo, a

chocolate cream cheese frosting

serves: 6lbs frosting

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 5 minutes

total time: 15 minutes

ingredients: 2 lbs room temperature butter. 2 lbs room temperature cream cheese. 1 tbs vanilla extract. 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted. 1 lb dark chocolate, melted and cooled. stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. 

start by combining the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your stand mixer. mix on a medium speed until everything is well combined. as the butter and cream cheese are mixing, pour in the vanilla extract. it should take 2-3 minutes to be completely combined and smooth. one third at a time, add in the powdered sugar. scrape down the sides of the bowl in between. once all the powdered sugar is added and well combined, slowly start to add in your chocolate. make sure that your chocolate has cooled significantly so nothing gets melty. once your chocolate is just combined, turn off your mixer. do not over whip. us immediately ore store in the fridge for up to two weeks.